EFFECT OF QUERCETIN ON HYPOXIA-REGULATED METASTATIC MARKERS IN AGGRESSIVE PANCREATIC CANCER CELLS UNDER HYPOXIC CONDITIONS

Pancreatic cancer is an intractable and rare malignancy ranked 12th in incidence and 7th in mortality. It is the leading cause of cancer deaths in developed countries and is rising in developing countries like India. According to GLOBOCAN 2020 statistics, pancreatic cancer has ranked as the 11th most common malignancy in the world and accounts for 495773 new cases and caused 466003 deaths in 2020. Tumor hypoxia is an important pathological condition that influences several signaling cascades in malignant cells, eventually leading to therapy resistance. Several natural bioflavonoids hold promise as anti-cancer agents. However, the effect of Quercetin on hypoxic pancreatic cancer cells is unknown. We analyze the effect of Quercetin on expression levels of metastatic markers HIF1α and E-cadherin under hypoxic conditions. Quercetin treatment was significantly correlated with reduced HIF1α expression levels and elevated E-cadherin levels. Our results suggest that Quercetin may alter E-cadherin levels by regulating HIF1α expression. Quercetin may inhibit pancreatic cancer cell metastasis by regulating metastasis genes in a hypoxic microenvironment and has pharmacological potential in aggressive pancreatic cancer treatment.